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especially on Halloween, but I interrupt your candy binging with big news!

That’s not news to anybody…. Here’s the real news:I have officially bought my first domain and website!

All the content you love on sweettoothnothings.wordpress.com has been transferred over to my fancy schmancy new site: sweettoothtravels.com

It’ll be more professional, hopefully.
More monetarily beneficial for me, hopefully.
And… it’s way less characters to type into your browser, for sure!

Unfortunately, that does mean you will have to click the ‘Follow’ button and enter your email address again. Laaame. The bright side is, once you verify your email address, you’ll automatically be alerted of my new posts. Huzzah!

So, please go ahead and follow more of my adventure at sweettoothtravels.com.I won’t be posting on this site anymore!
Also be sure to share my posts, follow my Instagram and Twitter, comment, and even buy a product or two.
Admittedly, I do get a percentage of the sales, but most of my money goes to travel and foster dogs, anyways. It’s a win-win!

If there’s a product you’d like me to advertise or somewhere you’d recommend I become an affiliate, please let me know. Mama needs a new dog harness!

Not to mention, if you have a business with which you’d like some support, let me know! I’m happy to help, collaborate, or do whatever I can to get your business going.

Freddieis a 10 month old schnauzer/terrier mix.
He has been spayed and is up-to-date on all his vaccinations.

Freddie was flown into New York City from Los Angeles just a couple days ago. While it is hard to know a foster dog’s entire background, we know one thing for sure: someone had Freddie and that someone dumped Freddie.

For this I am grateful! As, without these irresponsible and heartless dumpers, I would never have had the pleasure of meeting Freddie!

Coming in at maybe 20-25 lbs at most, Freddie is the perfect size and shape for petting, hugging, playing, and rough-housing. Sure, he could stand to gain a few pounds, but he certainly won’t get to be much larger. Especially not after all the running around he does.

He is never far, and always seems to be smiling. As loyal as a dog can be!

Freddie’s not impressed with my book collection

As for my dog, the two of them are getting along swimmingly- I’m quite surprised by this, frankly. My Lolly pup can get a bit jealous and bossy, so I was expecting her to be barking and growling, and in turn, I was expecting barking and growling from Freddie. Turns out, the two have one thing in common: they love chasing each other! So, she chases him, he chases her, they settle their differences, and they lap up water together and have a snooze. It’s the blissful life, I tell ya!

It’s funny, everyone has different experience with the dogs in foster care. Freddie had been in several foster homes before landing in mine. I had been warned that Freddie can get a little mouthy; mostly playfully, but also if overwhelmed or uncomfortable. I have yet to see this side of him, though. He’s met a bunch of my neighbours, he’s been on the train, in the dog park, at my local pet store… no barks, growls, or running in terror. He may back away with his tail between his legs, but in no way has this been done aggressively… thus far. Things can quickly change, of course. In the meantime, this guy is all hugs and kisses, Xs and Os.

What else can Freddie do? Your taxes. No, that’s not true. He does sit on demand, however. Usually. He’s definitely into treats, so having something yummy will help influence his positive actions. He loves to jump around and roll on his back, too. If you’re trying to live like you’re in a movie, he makes the perfect sidekick to run away with and explore the streams, mountains, and villages of the world. He’s the scruffy companion of every kid’s dreams!

As of now, Freddie has displayed house training (+1!), but I am told this may not last. I shall keep an eye on that. Until he does his doo-pop in the house, I’m gonna have to believe he’s been properly trained in that field.

He seems to be very attentive and aware of everything going on. I think this is a sign of intelligence. I’ve fostered my fair share of pups who don’t know or care what’s going on around them. This guy, on the other hand, walks the walk and talks the talk. With some attention and effort, I see lots of potential for him as a therapy dog!

Interested in training a therapy dog? Be sure to consider this great read:

If you have a canine friend who needs a little assistance when it comes time for medication, these Greenies Pill Pockets have been recommended by every dog adopter/rescuer/caretaker I know!
If you try them, please let me know if your dog loves them, too!
Click the link to buy some:

This is the phrase that was all over the place at Vaute Couture’s flagship GRAND OPENING today in the LES of Manhattan. I first heard about this event because my brother sent me a link. He and his wife had bought some clothing from them and he thought I’d be interested. I was. Turns out they couldn’t make it, but I was determined to go anyway.

How do you make a vegan happy? Vegan food, vegan clothing, and puppies. Today at the grand opening, Vaute Couture had all the above! Well, they allowed dogs, and dogs did come… with their families. This includes Mayhem, our little doxie/beagle foster pup!

In this photo, Hemmy is thinking, “Well, we going or what!? Come on!”

Getting to Essex street is fairly easy once in your in Manhattan, but it felt like we were never going to get there. This is because it was 95 degrees today. Walking a block in 95 degrees is difficult, so just imagine traveling by train and getting lost and directing a curious puppy… it was not the easiest task, but it was totally worth it! We found the place and chatted with a lovely woman until the doors opened.

Immediately we were greeted by Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart and her dog, as well as her team of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed salesladies. There were also snacks, drinks, balloons, and lovely art on the walls. They told us about a yard area in the back with a seesaw, so I just had to go check that out!

If I weren’t a vegan animal activist already, this place may have convinced me. It was darling and exciting and the people were SO nice! Far be it from me to make a claim to imply that all vegans are nice- that’s simply not true. However, the people who were really hyped for this opening were ready to have fun, support a good cause, and eat some tasty treats. Who could be mean while doing those things?

I also didn’t feel like I was in a vegan exhibition or that anyone was trying to pressure me or push anyone into a lifestyle. There weren’t dead animal images or anything that would make a non-vegan uncomfortable. It’s just another clothing store, it just happens to be cruelty-free. Not only to non-human animals, but humans, as well. They make sure to mention that all the clothing is sweatshop-free!

As for the clothing? Cute, comfy, and high quality. Sure, there were some shirts promoting veganism, but for the most part the clothing was for everyone. Winter coats and dresses and hats and shoes, some jewelry and plants for sale…. There was a little of everything.

What I also really liked was that various vegan shops were pitching in to help. The snacks were provided by Dun Well Doughnuts, byChloe, and Rockin’ Raw. Everything was so yummy and beautiful!

I am so glad I decided to make the trek to the Lower East Side to check out Vaute Couture’s store. Positive experiences like this opening matter. Now I can’t wait to bring other people; vegans and non to the store with me next time!

If you’re interested in checking out Vaute Coutoure’s products, you can either go to their store at 114 Stanton street or go to their website: http://vautecouture.com/

Instagram: Vaute_NYC —- Twitter: VauteNYC

Here’s what I bought. I love it!

As for the snacks, I have written reviews for byChloe and Dun Well Doughnuts. You can see what I had to say or find their websites at:

As for Rockin’ Raw, I am going there in a couple weeks. In the meantime, check out their site: http://www.rockinraw.com/

Now that Mayhem is full of donuts and cupcakes, he says it’s nap time. Either that or I broke the dog….

Click the ‘Follow’ button below to tune in when I review something else! If you have a review or know of other events you want to share, send an email to citygirlonastroll@gmail.com

In the meantime, get satisfied!

P.S. If it’s the puppy you’re more interested in, he is indeed looking for a home! If you would like to know more about adopting Mayhem, just go to waggytailrescue.org and fill out an adoption application!

To the land of holy cows and digestive tract Hell. As someone with digestive problems to begin with, I have experienced some awful stomach and esophageal issues. Thus, when I was told to be careful what I eat while traveling, I was more than happy to respond, “I can handle it. Trust me.” No one trusted me. Can you blame them?

But let’s start with the “safe” hotel and restaurant and flight food. See, in India, they don’t have restaurants with cow meat. It doesn’t happen. If it were to happen, I was told the place would be burned to the ground. Cows are truly respected in India. All animals are, but others can be eaten. The cow is the provider, though. It is the Mother. It gives milk to the starving, it gives patties (aka dung) to the construction worker (aka anyone who can collect, dry, and construct things out of dung) and they’re just kinda cute. Thus, the cow does what it wants, where it wants, when it wants.

Look at that wittle, pretty cow-cow! Who’s gonna tell him to get out of the road? Let him chill out. Don’t worry, little cow, we’ll drive around you!

Therefore, being vegetarian in India is easy. Just avoid chicken and mutton, and you’re good. However, being vegan is a bit trickier. Ghee and paneer are two biggies here. Ghee is basically butter and paneer looks like tofu, but do not be fooled! It is a cube of cheese. Even the Gulab Jaman is typically either made with milk and/or honey. So, unless you can speak Hindi or Urdu or whatever other of India’s 100+ languages, or you can somehow otherwise be 100% that the food is dairy-free, it is still difficult. Fortunately, I had a good guide to help me out, and many of the people I met could understand my question about milk/butter/honey. Still, I came close a few times! Also, you can pretty much just always assume most of the naan and rice will have ghee on it, unless you request it without it.

Fortunately, the first hotel I went to had paratha with potato inside and no ghee. Also, the fruit was delicious!

The most common fruits I came across were watermelon (which they also like to feed the monkeys) and mango. You also see the bean sprouts here. They weren’t too interesting, but I am sure they’re healthy. Papaya was also pretty common, but to me papaya tastes like a foot bath.

Onward we go! We had some korma and curry. Some “barbecue”also! Though, this is a very new concept for India. They didn’t quite understand that they’re supposed to cook it at your table, not cook it, then put it over a little heat at your table. However, it turns out that grilled pineapple is so, so good. As are corn kernels covered in corn flour and fried. Even Chinese food is better in India! I was told that China doesn’t serve chow mein, but India does. Boom!

The Chinese food also came with peanuts, so I immediately fell in love. They weren’t worried about anyone with peanut allergies. Forget those folks! We had peanuts, and they were delicious! No one even died!

Now, believe it or not, the one thing others and myself had to specifically request were samosas! We couldn’t find them. Apparently, samosas are a Winter food. So, most places didn’t serve them. After some perseverance and battling Warlocks, we found a place that served them. HUZZ- oh, yeah, they weren’t very good. It saddens me to admit it, but I had to add KETCHUP to my samosa to get through it. The only flavouring it had was anise and a couple peas. It was so disappointing; my heart still cries. Though, I like that the seeds kind of look like bugs…. Yes, they “look” like bugs. I dunno.

C’est la vie (translate that to Hindi, please.)

Now, after being pulled around from restaurant to restaurant, I finally decided to be a big girl and face my demons. Or, I should say my intestinal demons. I wanted to try some local street food. After all, we all die, why not speed up the process?

These three men were the little Devils sitting on my shoulder. They kept giving me samples of pakora. Now, I am no masochist, I didn’t try the fried hot pepper. That just seemed like an instant death sentence. I wanted my death to be very slow and very painful. So, I went with the knish-like one. They didn’t know what to tell me they were called, so I pointed and called them knishes, so now these three guys call these knishes. You’re welcome, India.

Indian knishes are delicious. Indian knishes come with raw onion (washed? Doubtful) and a mysterious greenish, blackish spicy liquid in a bag. It kind of looked like I won a fish at a fair and then forgot about him in the back of my dirty truck. Still, I ate the sauce. I ate the onion. I ate the chili pepper it came with. And I ate a total of three knishes over the next 2 days.

Hi- I’m a survivor of death. The contents of my body then came from within to the toilette. When all my guts were gone, all that was left were the cramps of shame. Oh- did I forget to mention that I was subjected to the use of these:

My feet no longer respect me and I will never look at myself in the mirror the same way again.

Do I regret my food adventures, though? Naw. It makes the experience authentic. Not to mention, these bad boys only cost the equivalent of 30 cents and all my dignity. That’s my kinda deal!

When the last day of my journey came, I was very, very sad to go. It was a difficult country to leave behind. But the memories and photos and stories and stomach scarring will never fade.

Just before leaving, I bought a drink at Starbucks. This may sound silly, but 1- it was a mango and soymilk drink, which really made my tummy happy and 2- Starbucks in the airport was pretty much the only Americanized aspect of India, so I had to check that out! For science! My smoothie was yummy and made the trip back a lot easier. Though, I now have a special souvenir from India! Every time I eat, about 20 minutes later everything I ate vacates my body in a fast and burning manner. Thank you, India, you’ve changed me and my life forever.